Boehner painted himself into a corner this week

[Renew Deal]

He took an impossible position. He listened to the extremists in the party and made an issue out of Planned Parenthood. But PP was never threatened because the Dems wouldn't allow it. So basically Boehner allowed himself to end up in a position where he could only lose. Now some say that he used PP as leverage for more cuts. But the true believers in the regressive party don't work that way. They are obsessive about destroying womens rights. If PP wasn't completely dismantled it was a total loss. And to them, Boehner is a wimp that got run over by Obama again.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Memo to John Boener:

You can't negotiate with terrorists. Even if they're in your Party.

[Drale]

3. Its probably easy to negotiate with al qaeda

then it is to negotiate with the tea baggers.

[Angry Dragon]

2. There are very few people in Congress that really care about the

American people. It is all about games and agendas.
No one is really looking at a sound economic policy.
Smoke and mirrors, and the ones that lose are the ones on the bottom.
If Congress shut down for six months no one would miss them.

[deacon]

4. Lot of posturing for the tea party. The victims were those worrying about whether their paychecks

would be cut off. The temporary and uneccesary stress that was put on them and their families was a result of pure politics and utterly disgraceful.

[bluestate10]

8. I favored a shutdown if republicans pushed the issue to that end.

My state did not suffer one lick during the 95 shutdown and likely would not have suffered this time around. There was a reason why republicans like Karl Rove were shitting their pants over a shutdown. A shutdown hammers red states, which all are dependent on federal largess. The reason why republicans suffered after the 95 shutdown is that the shutdown hurt people in their districts most. A 2011 shutdown would have pounded an increasingly red south, and interior west. The issue that baffles me is that so called experienced politicians like Chuck Shumer and Nancy Pelosi do not understand and take advantage of the fact that their states and other blue states will be little impacted by a shutdown. Screw republicans, if they put a knife to my throat, I will put one to theirs, but I will push harder once the blades start moving.

[bluestate10]

5. Democrats must take the gloves off. Democrats must start attaching

riders to bills to eliminate weapons programs and aid to red states that come out of the pockets of blue state citizens. It is time to fight fire with fire. If a wealthy state like California wants to fund PP clinics and affordable housing with federal tax money that it does not have to send to Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Utah, then California Congressional representatives must attach riders to bills until California gets it's tax money back and spends it as California sees fit.

[TahitiNut]

6. Rusty Boner just follows orders.

All speculation about his (alleged) position, his (alleged) feelings, or his (alleged) discomfort is mere dust compared to his dedication to serving the Powers That Be.

Those deluded fools who comprise his (and the GOP/teabagger) base will forget history as soon as the bell rings and they're sent on their next knuckle-dragging, slack-jawed "mission." They're "useful idiots."

[Snoutport]

7. BUT--we were all looking at PP (social issue) what did the koch brothers sneak in while we weren't

looking? That's the way they work. They dangle something shiny and we give up something else. Some stupid little piece that we don't think too much of...BUT they are collecting puzzle pieces. They are chip, chip, chipping at the big picture ALL the time.

So, my worry is, the Kochroaches just got some little bitty crumb they've been working on getting.

[PeaceNikki]

9. It was orange paint, no doubt.

[gratuitous]

10. I disagree

Because they'll be back in three weeks to do it all again. Sooner or later, the talking chuckleheads are going to wonder why Democrats are so beholden to irresponsible wimmens (you know, the ones that get themselves pregnant and then have to get an abortion on your tax dollars). Sure, it's all based on lies, but abortion talk makes too many of the elites feel all ooshy inside, and talking about lady parts makes some of them blush.

The conventional wisdom will coalesce around some variant on "Democrats are too in thrall to special interests to take serious action on the deficit."

[craigmatic]

11. No he didn't in terms of getting most of what he wanted Boner and the republicans won.

They're just disappointed that they didn't get more. They got 80% of what they wanted. We got nothing but Planned Parenthood to show for giving away all those cuts. Sure Boner doesn't lead his party, they lead him but that's beside the point. In terms of substance we lost this week. We only got a lousy political face saving gesture out of it. But we had planned parenthood to start with. So how is just keeping what you had a win when they took away everything else? Explain this logic to be because I just don't see it.

[Renew Deal]

12. "Everything else?"

Not really. There were cuts to a few programs, but it's not close to the 100Billion + abortions that the teabaggers wanted.